Hard disc drive (HDD) systems typically include one or more data storage discs with concentric tracks containing information. A transducing head carried by a slider is used to read from and write to a data track on a disc, wherein each slider has an air bearing surface that is supportable by a cushion of air generated by one of the rotating discs. The slider is carried by an arm assembly that includes an actuator arm and a suspension assembly, which can include a separate gimbal structure or can integrally form a gimbal.
As the density of data desired to be stored on discs continues to increase, more precise positioning of the transducing head and other components is becoming increasingly important. In many conventional systems, head positioning is accomplished by operating the actuator arm with a large scale actuation motor, such as a voice coil motor, to position a head on a flexure at the end of the actuator arm. A high resolution head positioning mechanism, or microactuator, is advantageous to accommodate the high data density.
The precision manufacturing of components of disk drive systems includes providing an electrical connection via solder material between sliders and suspension assemblies, either or both of which may include bond pads or bonding pads. In particular, a trailing surface of a magnetic recording head can have a number of bond pads that correspond to the same number of electrical pads that are positioned on a suspension tongue, wherein the electrical pads are connected to electrical traces. The electrical connection is provided by placing solder joints between the bond pads and the electrical pads, which thereby electrically connects the magnetic recording head to the electrical traces.
Typical bond pads are both electrically conductive and solder wettable, which allows both for electrical testing during assembly (e.g., with a probe) and electrical connection with solder of bond pads with adjacent components. However, it can be difficult to control the expansion or movement of solder during its placement in a solder joint, which can lead to bridged or open connections in high connection density applications. In addition, because many bond pads are made of a material that oxidizes to create an oxidized layer on top of the bond pad, the bond pad surface must be scratched or otherwise compromised prior to being able to probe or test the device. There is therefore a desire to provide slider configurations that allow for accurate placement of solder connections in high density applications while also providing a surface that is available for electrical probing without surface scratching during and after the slider assembly process.